Talking Book

IMO Stevie is at his best when he does the funky soul numbers. Superstition is one of his most iconic songs, with killer guitar hooks and I love his funky snarling voice. But this album is marred by syrupy maudlin commercial tracks meant to sell records such as You are the sunshine, You and I, Looking for another pure love, and I believe. Yuck. If it had more Superstition it would be a 4 but the dreck pulls it down unfortunately

This is an actual classic album. Stevie Wonder in his imperial period. It is hard to over-praise this record.

Lovely relaxed vocals but the lyrics are too sickly sweet for my tastes and a bit repetitive. Superstition is amazing. Stevie Wonder's real name is Stevland Morris. 3/5

Arguably Stevie Wonder's best album, although I prefer "Innervisions" and "Songs in the Key of Life." Inarguably among one of the 1001 greatest albums of all time. "Maybe Your Baby" is an electro jam that feels contemporary in 2021. "Superstition" is an unskippable track for all people and all times.

I went down the rabbit hole with Stevie Wonder after listening to this.... he has so many more catchy hits than I realized, many that have been covered so many times..... my favorite will always be 'Don't you worry 'bout a thing' but my newest discovery rivals my favorite - - 'Pastime paradise'; I'd never listened to the original, only the cover - Gangster's paradise

For every bit of magic on this album, there's something a little powderpuff about much of the rest of the material. I know we are all supposed to consider Stevie Wonder a genius, but Innervisions aside I'm not sure he's ever hit that kind of consistency. The funk-soul equivalent to Iron Maiden, then; stellar moments and a hogshead of filler

nuh uh. how can this guy be blind. theres no way. now i have no excuse to be shit at anything. im not even blind, only slightly fat. fav songs: youre the sunshine of my life, maybe your baby, youve got it bad girl, blame it on the sun, i believe.

One of my all time favourite songs on this album - Superstition. So was looking forward to this, but i am sorry this song couldnot carry the rest of the album. It mostly sounded like lounge music to me. 2 Stars

this is one of my favourite albums of all time! a smile came to my face when i saw this was our next album to listen to ! every song unfolds so well together one after another! literally every single song is perfect !!! 5/5

This is the album that has "Superstition" on it, the rest of the album is pretty forgettable electronic keyboard and sleepy soulless blabbering. Songs just boring and don't go anywhere, like an essay written to pad length.

Stevie has an ass ton of funk in his left hand. His 70's output is unrivaled in the funk/soul/r&b genre in my opinion. This was like seeing an old friend when it popped up this morning. I feel like Stevie was hanging out with the other producers of this album saying, I like the song Maybe Your Baby, but I think it needs a groovy fuzzed out guitar solo. And they said, well Stevie, who you gonna call?

Optimistic!

So dope bruh

Typical Stevie Wonder album, Some of the best music ever and some of the most self indulgent crap on the same disk. Loved some of it but hated that I didn't love it all.

I love me some Stevie, and seeing him on this list will likely surprise no one. I think I actually own this record, but hadn't listened to it before today. I own and have listened to Songs in the Key of Life, and Hotter Than July, the latter of which I bought in a head shop in Macomb along with a book on how propaganda was making men's fashion more feminine (I threw away the book, still have the record). Anyway, based on my limited experience with his discography, Stevie's music is super consistent, and a joy. When I go back to hosting game nights again, I will be sure to dust off my copy of Talking Book. My personal enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

this is a perfect album.

Undoubtedly a genius, sometimes his tracks are just too cheesy. However, when he wants to get funky then his squelching synths and cry baby bass is amazing. Best Tracks: Maybe Your Baby; Tuesday Heartbreak; Superstition

An album of two halves. The well known tracks are some of Stevie's best. The album tracks are a bit bland and dull, frankly. However, any record with a song as strong as I Believe can't be all bad, right? For me, Innervisions is a better record for the cohesion and clarity of purpose.

Absolutely outstanding and unique view of Stevie’s music. Not being super familiar with his work outside of any of the hits, this really helped me appreciate a bit more of the work that I guess was not considered as “commercial” at the time.

Excellent Stevie album. Hard to dislike. I'm not so much into the slower ballady numbers, but its not like they're bad. Fave Tracks: Maybe Your Baby, Tuesday Heartbreak, Superstition, I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) 4/5

Not a fan of soul/R&B and the cheesy schmaltz of the opening track ‘you are the sunshine of my life’ was a terrible start. Sorry Stevie, not for me

Awful

Breathtaking!!!

Excellent

Stevie makes it look too easy

Wonder's magical album run in the early seventies is kind of amazing, even if the albums have not totally impacted me. In this listen to Talking Book I was mesmerized more than ever. Perhaps I need a multiple listen guideline for these albums. In particular, the interplay of the multiple organs/keys on many tracks. The big 3 tracks here are just top Wonder on any list. I'm close to a 5 here, more of a 4.5 but bumping up for the perfect vibe.

The backbeat in Superstition alone deserves five stars

it’s a stevie wonder album

Talking Book 5 star banger. Never noticed the sobbing sounds around 1.47 of You are the Sunshine of my Life when he sings ‘lonely’. Great opening track, love the laid back melody, rightfully a classic. Always loved Maybe Your Baby, the tension that the intro and verse build before the relatively subdued chorus is fantastic. I love the Theremin sounding synth on You and I, and the song itself is great, one of his best ballads I think. And I love the whole atmosphere of Tuesday Heartbreak. I don’t know what I’m talking about but it feels like he’s singing slightly behind the beat, giving it an lovely unhurried swing. Love You’ve Got it Bad Girl, not sure why it but it always sounded like California to me. Superstition. Can’t really say anything that’s not been said, but I’d recommend the One Song podcast in this song, the stems from the drums are amazing. Big Brother is another sunny sounding song to me even though it’s quite a bleak lyric, but I love the melody and harpsichord style synth. Blame it on the Sun is probably my least favourite song on the album, but it’s still a very good 70s Stevie ballad. Lookin For Another Pure Love on the other hand is great, one I didn’t appreciate when I first heard the album but now I love. And then I Believe, which is just an utterly joyous and fantastic love song, one of my absolute favourite Stevie songs. Obviously it can’t be anything but a 5, even if a couple of songs don’t quite reach the heights of the others as a whole album it’s one of the greatest ever. 📖📖📖📖📖 Playlist submission: I Believe (When I Fall In Love it Will Be Forever)

When I bought this on CD it was from the "low price oldies" section - for context, that's equivalent in time to buying the first Kayne album today, christ! Lots of interesting synth sounds and squelchy Moog bass (all played by Stevie) decorate some excellent tunes; these are outrageously experimental given how poppy they sound. I love the funky numbers and the sappy ones equally. It's not quite Innervisions, but that's not really a criticism

Beautiful, poetic, loving

Buenísimo

Super funky, enjoyed this one more then I expected.

Great album. I've been listening to it for years. Not new to me.

Absolutely brilliant. A masterpiece companion to Innervisions (all recorded pretty much in one go).

Timeless Stevie Wonder album, no comments needed

Wonderful album from start to finish.

The best record of his career, and a monster of an album with chart hits and influential songs spilling out all over the place. I have always loved this record. I still do.

The two songs opening each side are excellent and very well known hits. For me, Superstition is his best song.  Ray Parker will always be better known for his Ghostbusters song but his  guitar on Maybe Your Baby is top shelf and really works well with the funkiness. Stevie delivers the electric piano and clavinet that makes Tuesday Heartbreak. I've never heard those instruments deliver a cool and funky vibe like this. Stevie's vocals on You and I might be his best on the LP. Jeff Beck's guitar on Looking for Another . . . is also quite good as one would expect from Jeff. I didn't know Stevie for his political songs. Big Brother is quite good and the words "You've killed all our Leaders" are particularly poignant given this album was made less than 5 years after  Martin Luther King and Bobby  Kennedy were murdered.  Different songs on this LP have very different features that make them soar. They are all good songs for very different reasons. An album that pulls this off meets my definition of a 5. As an afterthought, it's a great picture on the cover. 

Beautiful album. It’s like a love-child of funk and country but raised by classical. It’s soft and gentle but also thoughtful. Stevie Wonder has a perfect voice and he also has poignant lyrics. This album delivers pretty heavy stuff like love and heartbreak and rebirth and belief and faith but it’s done so lite and breezy. Stevie Wonder is a genius. Top tracks You are the sunshine of my life Big brother You and I Tuesday Heartbreak Iconic track Superstition

The album starts with calming chords and a soft groove. Then the groove heats up and stays strong. Each song has unique instruments and melodies that keep this a very interesting album all the way through.

The one..the.only...Stevie Wonder

5/5 - Always loved this album; Hell yeah, Stevie

So much soul!

Amazing songwriting and arranging of the music.

Not the only 5 star album, but this is top class.

Super album

really good obv

Funky classic! Superstition!

Imagine being this talented

Awesome! Can't believe I didn't discover him earlier

Dope beats

Brought back memories...

Great

This album is amazing! I can't believe how great Stevie Wonder's music is. What a genius. I can see all the influences he's had on musicians.

The album is elite

Fantastic

Beautiful work by Stevie Wonder

I've been busy so I had to go back to this one. Really loved it stevie wonder is great

I'm familiar with some of his more famous songs because Stevie Wonder is, well, iconic to say the least but never actually listened to a full album by him. Lemme just say I'm kicking myself for missing out and this Aussie gives Talking Book five lamingtons out of five.

Amazing album. It's so easy to overlook Stevie Wonder sometimes, but this album is always worth coming back to.

Great smooth listening

grande stevieeee!

Fantastic!! Now we are getting somewhere. The keys, the funk, and Stevie's wonderful voice.

all the famous songs here are impeccable gems

For me, Stevie Wonder is at his best when he’s funky. The ballads don’t really do a whole lot for me, even though I think they are well produced and usually are pretty gorgeous instrumentally. It’s the funk, though…that sweet, elastic funkiness with the synthetic bass and clavinet. It’s so good. Stevie Wonder is a musical genius. [wipes nose] (That’s a reference that like 4 people will get.)

Стиви Уандер - это наш кротяра

Much of this is unsurpassable. Superstition sits next to Sweet Jane in having a riff that I can conceive continuing forever. There’s schmaltz on here, by my own measure, where the music is not great enough to sublimate lyrical sentimentality. Lookin’ For Another Pure Love is schmaltz; I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) is majestic.

Of all the jazz-funk-soul greats of the 20th century, Stevie Wonder is the only one who just never really resonated with me. I swear if you took away the singing half of these songs sound like Nintendo Wii lobby music.

"Superstition" is great, unfortunately canceled out by "Maybe Your Baby." High highs and low lows aside, I didn't love it.

he kinda sound like steve lacy, he kinda look like him in the cover too, steve lacy stole stevie's whole flow. good album. 3.5

So, my expectations were mixed as ‘Superstition’ is a belter but I really dislike ‘You are the sunshine… ‘. Turns out that was a rather accurate ratio for this album. Either he’s being super funky (love the squelchy keyboard thing) or writing some awesome melodies, or it’s a godawful corny ballad, with nothing inbetween. It’s kinda like Russian Roulette in album form.

Superstition is an all time great song. Shame the rest of the album sounds nothing like it. Not bad, just gives you a glimpse of some of his best work for one song and the rest is mid.

Smooth. Stevie Wonder defined easy listening. That synth/organy sound is awful though. Is that the clarinet? Not a fan. Total elevator music sound. Am I ever going to consciously choose this? No. Is Stevie Wonder classic? Sure. And everyone knows the hits. But it’s really not all that great.

He's boring

Loveeee Superstition so went in expecting to love this hyped up album but a little disappointed by the rest of it! vocals are great and relaxed but a lot of it just feels very shmaltzy sentimental and kitchy… this is more about personal preference I’m sure but the overly soppy love stuff just got samey and boring to me, overall not a bad album by any means great voice and some songs but as a whole expected this to wow me far more

How did I already get another Stevie Wonder album from such an exhaustive list? This one was too slow and cheesy for me, should've been called Blabbering Book. Superstition is good but not enough to carry the rest of the setlist. Maybe alright for chillin' in a lounge but not my cup of tea (too much honey).

I'm not sure what they hype about this album is. Stevie slowed it down way too much through the vast majority of this. Superstition is miles ahead of anything else on the album. The rest of this is completely skippable. 1.10 stars

Endlessly relistenable. Big Brother ❤️

Stevie nails it again. Thanks to this list I've been introduced to more of his work. Not much to say outside of this being a great example of funk and soul. It seems a little softer than his other stuff I'm familiar with, and that works great here. Also Superstition is an all time banger.

Easy 5! Stevie could do no wrong during this era. I’ve often said “Songs in the key of life” is my favorite album of all time but it’s very long and so I don’t reach for it often. If I’m going to listen to Stevie I’ll always go for Talking Book or FFF. This album is just banger after banger. I feel like I could write a paragraph on each track but I’ll keep it short and sweet. This album is overflowing with beautiful songs about love, heartbreak and relationships in general. “You are the sunshine of my life”, “You and I” and “I believe” are a trifecta of my favorite love songs ever. “Superstition” is such a funky bop. “Maybe your baby” is funky as hell and maybe overstays its welcome a little bit but Stevie saying “I’m a little boy” in a weird voice is worth the wait. I’m already tiring of this exercise so let’s just say I love all the other songs on this album too. Just an absolute classic. If you don’t like this album I’m sorry you lead a sad, loveless life.

classic

god I love Stevie so much. Never heard this one I don’t think. Music of my mind is my faves of the ones from him I have listened to - I know songs in the key of life is like his magnum opus but it’s so long and MOMM is so tight and some really cool experimental early stuff with the talk box. Which lets me drop one of my fave fun facts - on blonde by Frank ocean he samples a tv show live performance of Stevie covering They Long To Be (Close To You) in which he uses the talk box for the whole performance and uses that as part of the instrumental for his own cover/interpolation. Also two songs in and this absolutely fucks. Whoever mixed Maybe your Baby I hope they got some crazy good head for that one

A good album with soulful tracks. But totally elevated to a 5 by the inclusion of Superstition.

Looking at those tracks… that’s a 5.

lets go back to 1971 during the black power movement and the Vietnam war. Music is becoming increasing political. Motown puts a ban on all political music. Marvin Gaye releases "Whats Going On." every track masterfully reflects the current political environment . It’s a healer for the violence and support for the victims. Joining him there’s sly stone, Curtis Mayfield, Gil-Scott Heron and many more. The next big player in this movement is stevie wonder. This is the album that made him who he is. ok wait im giving up im too tired to write anything decent Go watch “1971 the year that changed music” cause it’s about everything im trying to say. It’s very good i highly recommend let me put yall on. It’s history and music anyways lets continue sunshine of my life 8/10- i love the way this chord progression develops. A song i could see playing at a bernardi dinner party. makes me feel nostolgic and warm. the drums picking up their pace in the end is mwah maybe your baby 10/10 - janet jackson and thundercat took notes. that dark adictive growel sound oooooooooooooooooooooo. the drums are a character in this song. that solo in the end is such a perfect touch. this music got groveee its fierce you and i 8/10 - a slow song on this album that doesn't drag. i think its beautiful and is an exception to my complaint of the lyrics being to repetitive and commercial (loveyyy love ya know) this is how you do a ballad. the lyrics have their moments (also, stevie wonder can really really sing)
 tuesday heartbreak 10/10 - i said this was my least favourite to victor but i 100% take that back. this song is lots of fun, had me up dancing in my room. youve got it bad girl 11/10 - maybe my favoruite on the album along with big brother. this song is perfect and if you disagree listen to it until you hear what im hearing cuase omgodness its amaze. sounds like a rnb song that could be released today (still sounds fresh) i can hear this being a robert glasper song. superstitious 11/10 - classic... dont feel like writing everything me and victor discussed about this song cause im sleepy so ill let him take this one. let me still add a bit of my own. not to trauma dump but this song is exactly what it feels like to have anxiety and ocd. perfect example of the narrative happening in my brain "Keep me in a daydream, keep me going strong You don't wanna save me, sad is my song" this one hits for me big brother 11/10 - same thing as before hopefully victors got this one. 1984 is one of my faovuirte books so i reallyyyyyyy like this one. its very powerful and more relevant then ever, blame in on the sun 8/10 - that chorus is insane. reminds me of a micheal jackson song. Looking for another pure love 8/10 - reminds me a lot of Joni Mitchell I like it (Sorry for all the spelling mistakes I’m sick and tired) - tessa 4.7 stars

Great record. Several old favorites and a few new ones.

Stone cold classic..every time I hear Stevie Wonder I w feel I should listen to more.

Stevie is a genius. Texturally, tonally, everything here is the most perfect cream to a cat. All of his 70’s albums fill that description. Picking a “best” is just a matter of personal choice. Mine is Fulfillingness’ First Finale, but then I think about Talking Book and Songs In The Key Of Life and I’m never totally sure.

Ahhhh, Stevie!! Hello, old friend. What a singer — his tenor just ~floats~. What a performer. Fearless. His stuff holds up (and then some) lo these 50+ years later.

Not my favourite Stevie album. But that’s like saying which one of your children you prefer. Unbelievably good.

Stevie Wonder is one of those folks that somehow knows every instrument. Dude is nothing short of amazing. He is so influential and his reach is so far in music it is mind boggling. This album has some of the absolutely best songs. Superstition is perfection, Sunshine of my Life is awesome. I Believe should be played at every wedding for all time. There are some songs that feel repetitive but they aren't bad songs. I have listened to this album so many times before and will again. Great album.

C'mon! It's Stevie freakin' Wonder. The man is a musical genius and if you only had this one album, it would be evidence enough of that fact. A must have for anyone who appreciates music.

Another Stevie classic. Had a blast revisiting this album, just wish I wasn’t on the mend from the flu so I could enjoy it even more!

🐐

Shocker

Smooth and relaxing, thinking about buying it on iTunes for the iPod. It’s been raining for the last week here, but this album feels like a cup of hot soup or a warm fire.

Yep another Stevie classic!

Just that signature Stevie Wonder groove throughout

Stevie Wonder is masterful. He can make you smile along to “You Are the Sunshine of my Life,” sing along to “I Believe When I Fall in Love With You it Will be Forever,” and groove to “Superstition.” But before the album ends he also hits you with lyrics like this (from “Big Brother”): You've killed all our leaders I don't even have to do nothin' to you You'll cause your own country to fall Stevie Wonder has such musical, lyrical, and emotional breadth, and yet on his 15th album (?!) he was just getting started.